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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Spending just a year around players like Derek Carr and Khalil Mack was enough for Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander to see that the Raiders were on the verge of turning things around in coach Jack Del Rios second season in Oakland.That was one of the main reasons why I wanted to sign back because I knew they were going to be a Super Bowl contender with all the young talent they had just based on last year, Alexander said.Hell get an up-close look at the resurgent Raiders (9-2) on Sunday when the Buffalo Bills (6-5) visit Oakland.While the Raiders success comes as little surprise to Alexander, the production Alexander has provided the Bills has been a stunner. Known as mostly a special teams standout during his first nine seasons in the NFL, Alexander has emerged as a big-time pass rusher in Buffalo.He has 10 sacks on the season for coach Rex Ryan -- one more than he had in his first nine years in the league.We did not see that in him or we wouldnt have let Rex get him, Del Rio said Im really happy for a guy like Lorenzo. Hes a consummate professional. This is a guy that busts his butt, does everything he can, every day to be a true professional. We had him around thinking thats what we were getting is that, the leadership part of it and, honestly, we missed on this part where hes getting 10 sacks.Adding to that total against the Raiders wont be easy. Oakland has allowed a league-low 12 sacks thanks to a powerful line and Carrs ability to get rid of the ball quickly.You go into a game thinking youll be lucky to get one sack, Ryan said. Its a combination of that offensive line, but another thing is you have a quarterback thats not going to take sacks. Hell get rid of it if he has to.Here are some other things to watch:STOP THE RUN: The Raiders have had issues stopping the run, allowing 4.6 yards per carry and holding just two of the past 10 opponents under 100 yards. They will face an especially tough test against LeSean McCoy and Buffalo. The Bills are averaging 5.3 yards per carry -- the most in the league in four years -- and are seeking their first five-game streak of 150-yard rushing games since 1975. Even if the Raiders manage to keep McCoy under control, quarterback Tyrod Taylor is also dangerous with 423 yards rushing and a 6.3 average.Its like they have two running backs in the backfield, Mack said.PROTECT THE BALL: No team has avoided turnovers as well as the Bills. Buffalos six turnovers are the fewest through 11 games in NFL history. The previous low over that span was eight shared by five teams, most recently Kansas City last year. The single-season record is 10, set by New England in 2010 and matched by San Francisco the following season. Taylor has four INTs and one lost fumble and rookie RB Jonathan Williams lost a fumble for the other turnover.Its my job to take calculated risks, but at the same time be smart with where Im going with the football, Taylor said. Turnovers definitely dont lead to good things in this league.BIG TARGET: The one part of the Raiders offense that hasnt been clicking all year is the tight end in the passing game. Thats what made Clive Walfords big game last week so important. Walford had three catches for 43 yards against Carolina, including a 14-yard catch on third-and-11, followed by a 12-yard TD on the tying drive in the fourth quarter.It shows that Derek still believes in me and has a lot of faith in me, Walford said. Im just grateful that I can be there for him to make a play for him like that.OAKLAND DROUGHT: Oakland has not been kind to the Bills in their history. Buffalo has not won a game there since Jack Kemp led them to a 31-10 victory there in 1966 . The Bills have lost all eight meetings, although they did beat the Raiders in overtime in 1991 in Los Angeles.Fifty years ago? Phew, Ryan said. Thats amazing. Woof. You talk about a drought.REUNION: Del Rio and Ryan have a long history, having served as defensive assistants together in Baltimore when the Ravens won the Super Bowl following the 2000 season. Both credited former Ravens coach Brian Billick for their success and remembered fondly the days in Baltimore together when they would pretend to be draft experts Mel Kiper and Joel Buchsbaum and try to predict picks in advance.It was fun for us, Ryan said. We got fired up for the draft. Wed have our notes and be going back and forth. It was a good time.---AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed to this report---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLDarnell Savage Jr. Packers Jersey . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. Dave Robinson Jersey . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/Customized/ . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Reggie White Packers Jersey . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Dave Robinson Packers Jersey . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout.NEW YORK -- It took 40 years for Original Six rivals Boston and New York to face off again in the playoffs. Beantowns Bruins seem intent on wrapping up the long-awaited get-together in a hurry. Daniel Paille scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:31 left in the third period -- after defenceman Johnny Boychuk got the Bruins even earlier in the frame -- and Boston put the Rangers on the brink of elimination with a 2-1 victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night. Boston leads the series 3-0 and can advance to the conference finals as early as Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Only three NHL teams have rallied from an 0-3 hole to advance. However, the Philadelphia Flyers did it to the Bruins in 2010 in this round. "We can talk about it all we want, but thats in the past," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "We had to live with that and we still have to live with that." Boston also nearly blew a 3-1 series edge in the opening round this year against Toronto, before rallying from a three-goal deficit in the third period and capturing Game 7 in overtime. "The Toronto series, I didnt think our team was in the zone the way it is right now," Julien said. "I anticipate -- knowing my team -- that were going to come out the same next game and certainly not be the Jekyll and Hyde team that we were in the first round." The Bruins trailed 1-0 heading into the third, but Boychuk tied it with his fourth of the playoffs after he netted just one in 44 regular-season games. The Rangers hadnt lost in regulation when leading after two periods since Feb. 4, 2010. Boston thought it had grabbed the lead seconds before Paille scored when a shot deflected off the mask of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, popped up in the air and landed on the goal line. Lundqvist couldnt find it before Paille swooped in from behind the net and poked in the puck. "I thought we played a pretty strong game," Lundqvist said, "but we came up short again and it definitely hurts." Taylor Pyatt had made it 1-0 in the second period for the Rangers, who were outscored 8-4 in two losses at Boston to begin the series. New York had won nine straight at home, including three in the playoffs against Washington in the first round. Lundqvist was sharp until the third period and finished with 32 saves. He bounced back well after an uncharacteristic performance in which he allowed five goals in the Game 2 loss. "You have to be pretty happy with the situation right now," said Tuukka Rask, who made 23 saves for Boston. "We were really happy with our effort, I think this was our best defensive effort in a long, long time. So we just have to stay calm, keep playing our style of hockey and good things will happen." New Yorks task is now most difficult. The Rangers were already trying to become the first NHL team to ever rebound from 0-2 holes to win consecutive series. "You cant look at it as you have to win four games," Lundqvist said. "You just have to focus on the next one. The season is on the line, so you have to leave everything out there. "We definitely have to give everything right now, mentally and physically, and put it out there on Thursday." The Rangers again couldnt get their power play unttracked, failing in both of their chances and dropping to 0-for-10 in the series.dddddddddddd New York has only two power-play goals in 38 opportunities during these playoffs. Boychuk was credited with the tying goal after the puck appeared to deflect into the net off Rangers defenceman John Moore. The game turned rougher moments later when New York forward Chris Kreider was struck under his visor by the stick of Bostons Tyler Seguin, who was following through on a shot just inside the blue line. Seguin was then clipped in the exchange by the stick of Rangers defenceman Steve Eminger. Shortly after, Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron had a cut over his eye that left his white jersey bloodstained. No penalties were called on any of the plays. New York took just its second lead of the series 3:53 into the second period when Pyatt deflected in a shot by defenceman Ryan McDonagh that was fired from the blue line. Lundqvist shined in the second, making a pad stop on Seguin 6 1-2 minutes in, stretching across to knock away a drive by rookie defenceman Torey Krug -- who scored in each of the first two games of the series -- and then bringing the crowd to its feet with a lunging glove snare of Gregory Campbells slap shot from the left circle with 8:24 remaining. That got the Bruins even in shots (15-15) before they outshot New York 8-1 the rest of the second. The Rangers got off to a sluggish start after losing the opening faceoff, and didnt mount any kind of early surge fueled by the excited home crowd. New York didnt carry the puck into the Boston end until 1:35 had elapsed. "You have to be proud of your team," Julien said. "The Rangers hadnt lost here in a long time and they were extremely confident. You saw them come out with that confidence. I thought they were a much better team than they had been in Boston. "We had to face that and we had to be better." The Rangers picked up their play and built a 6-1 edge in shots, including scoring opportunities on Rask. New York earned the first power play of the night, however it was as ineffective as it has been throughout the post-season. The tide turned back to the Bruins favour just before the midway point in the period, starting with a partial breakaway after New York turned over the puck at the Boston blue line. Chris Kelly raced ahead with the puck and was stopped in tight by Lundqvist when he tried a backhanded shot. Shawn Thornton was also denied when he came in alone on Lundqvist with 8:46 left in the period, and Jaromir Jagr couldnt score, either, when he got a pair of whacks at the puck that the New York goalie turned aside. The Bruins surge gave them an 8-7 edge in shots, but Boston finished the period trailing 11-9. "We were down but we werent playing that poorly," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said of the teams third-period mindset. "We needed to stay aggressive, try to tie the game. We just wanted to get pucks to the net. We did that and we were rewarded." NOTES: The Rangers didnt yield a power-play chance for the second straight home game. ... New York D Anton Stralman was injured in the second period and didnt return. ... Since Boston trailed 4-1 in Game 7 against Toronto, Rask has allowed five goals in four-plus games. ' ' '